


The Waxed Floor Dilemma

by Superhiro



Category: The Chronicles of Nick - Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Caleb still adores him, Fluff, M/M, Nick is a dork, a lot of fluff, not that he likes admitting it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 06:43:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5154071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superhiro/pseuds/Superhiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick really wants to be able to slide across the damn hallway without slipping. Caleb thinks it's ridiculous, but doesn't really have a say in the matter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Waxed Floor Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt, "I waxed the floors, grab your fluffy socks." from an 101 Fluffy Prompts list from tumblr (I basically changed it to imply someone else waxed the floors, but whatever, that doesn't really make a difference). This is my first Nick/Caleb fanfiction, so I hope everything turned out okay! Give me feedback and enjoy! <3

Nick knew, without a doubt in the world, that Caleb secretly enjoyed his company. He had voiced this once, adding on a bit about how he must just be ‘too damn cute not to love’. Caleb had rolled his eyes and commented that he wouldn’t care if Nick got himself hit by a bus.

Caleb could act as if the only reason he stayed by Nick’s side was for his and the world’s own safety, but Nick had heard his friend state that he cared about him with his own two ears. There was also the fact the two of them would hang around each other even when there was no actual reason for them to.

Nick didn’t actually have a lot of spare time. He was crammed during the week with school, surviving preternatural threats, work, homework, football and the band Casey had dragged him into. But some weeknights, and obviously on the weekends, he did manage to get some free time. A good portion of this time, Nick spent over at the giant mansion that Caleb nonchalantly called home. During these times they were no longer the Malachai and his daeva bodyguard, but just two friends, playing video games, bickering, and laughing together.

Some days, Nick would be lounging over at Caleb’s and his eyes would begin to close against his will as he lay against his friend’s incredibly comfy couch. Caleb would shove his phone at Nick before he drifted off and warn him that if he didn’t tell his mother he was sleeping over, she would throw a fit, and Caleb did _not_ want to make Cherise Gautier angry. Ordinary times such as those were ones he cherished. Nick didn’t want to call this day a good one, because that would just be testing his luck, but Kyrian had given him the day off and he had only been attacked by a couple lower class demons that weren’t a challenge to defeat. Yep, there were definitely some positive aspects.

He dropped by Liza’s store to help her carry in and organize the new shipment of products she had received, and then headed over to Caleb’s house, hoping to totally destroy him in various video games for a while.

“Cay!” Nick shouted as he wandered into the elaborate foyer, “Do you have Mario Bros.? I’m in the mood for some of the classics.”

When he didn’t immediately get a reply, Nick simply rolled his eyes and headed to the east wing where Caleb had set up what was pretty much the coolest gamer’s pad ever. One day, Nick was going to get one just like it himself, but for now, using his best friend’s was fine with him.

He took the stairs two at a time and paused at the top when he noticed the undeniable shine on the expensive, hardwood flooring. It was obvious that the floor had been waxed, something he and his mom never did with theirs, but Kyrian had made him do several times to his. Nick briefly wondered who Caleb had cleaning his house before he continued walking.

Since he’d taken his shoes off upon entering the house due to them being absolutely covered in mud, the only things on his feet were socks. An old, cheap, fluffy pair that his mom insisted looked fine because, _“no one really notices socks Nicky. Besides these ones are comfortable and don’t have any holes, so you should appreciate them”_. He couldn’t help but complain anyway. They were seriously horrendous. Taking a couple steps on the waxed floor, his foot slipped, just a little bit, and a grin spread across his face.

He paused as he brought his feet together and stared down the long hallway. Breathing in, then out, he rushed full speed ahead down the hall. In the first moments, he lost his footing and almost crashed into a wall, but managed to avoid falling completely off course at the last second. Once he was about halfway down, he stopped in hopes of letting himself slide the rest of the way across. He laughed as it was a success and he went along quickly and smoothly.

At least, he was going along smoothly _at first._ As he slid along, he ended up losing his balance and promptly fell backwards onto the floor with a loud bang. He half expected Caleb to appear instantly at the sound, but his friend still didn’t make himself present. It figured.

Nick groaned as he sat back up. Maybe sliding across the waxed floor wasn’t the best idea, but there was no way he was going to stop doing it now. He had wanted to successfully glide across the full hallway, stopping just before hitting the wall. He hadn’t accomplished it the first time, but Gautiers weren’t quitters, and Nick wouldn’t rest until he did this right.

Standing up, he turned, facing the direction he’d come from and praying that he didn’t fall over this time or end up going too fast to stop himself from tripping down the staircase.

The worrying had been unnecessary, as he only had to run several steps before he fell face first towards the floor. Another bang sounded out, and this time Caleb did appear beside Nick just moments after.

“What are you doing, dumbass?” Caleb asked, a skeptical eyebrow raised.

Nick grinned goofily up at his friend, “The floor is waxed. Quick, grab your fluffy socks!”

“There’s no way I’m joining you in this idiotic pursuit.”

“C’mon Cay, it’s something to do that’s fun and painless for a change!” Nick jumped up to his feet, then immediately ruined his point by slipping on the stupid floor again. He let out a loud yelp as he fell onto his back with a flop. Dang, that hurt!

Caleb barked out a loud laugh. The traitor.

Nick groaned as he sat up slightly on his back, “You are the worst friend ever.”

He laughed again, and Nick couldn’t help but note that he liked it when Caleb wore a wide grin instead of his seemingly permanent scowl. It looked like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and some of the pain in his eyes had dissipated. Nick was pleased that he had the power to give his friend this expression on occasion.

Caleb offered Nick his hand, “Painless?”

He took it, “Shut up, Malphas.”

When Nick was back on his feet, he shuffled carefully towards the staircase, turning around as he reached them.

“Are you seriously trying that again?” Caleb asked.

“HEY! I happen to remember you giving me several pep talks about not giving up before!” Nick argued, “Now you’re suddenly keen on letting me quit something before I kick ass at it?”

“That definitely does not apply to this.”              

“It either applies to nothing or everything. You can’t be choosey on when to follow your personal beliefs, Cay!” Nick winked at him and his friend gave a bemused shake of his head.

Nick raced down the hall for his next attempt, and fell down, again. The following try wasn’t much better. Or the try after that or the one after that…

“Why are you doing this to yourself?” Caleb asked, clearly more annoyed than amused at this point.

Nick’s whole body was aching, but he forced himself to stand back up, “I’m not quitting now! I have to do it right!”

“You’re too clumsy for this, Gautier.”

Nick scoffed, “I doubt you could do any better.”

Caleb glared at him, “I already told you that I’m not getting involved with your dumb games.”

“Ah, so you don’t think you could do it.” Nick taunted.

“I never said that I couldn’t do it.” Caleb countered, “I’m perfectly capable of sliding across a slippery floor without falling on my face. I’m just choosing not to.”

“Well if you never try it, then there’s no proof.”

“Nick, you should seriously stop pestering me about this. It’s only going to be further embarrassment for you if I do it and then inevitably achieve your goal on the first attempt.”

“If you’re so confident that you think your success is ‘inevitable', you should have no problem with doing it once.” Nick argued, once again.

Caleb huffed, but went to stand beside Nick by the staircase, “Once.”

Nick laughed and made a dramatic gesture to the hallway, “Show me your skills, oh great demigod guardian.”

Caleb rolled his eyes before rushing forward. His steps were quick and precise, making him arrive halfway down the hall in the blink of an eye. Then, he was sliding gracefully across the rest of the way. He didn’t swerve off course, or seem even the slightest bit off balance for even a second. By the time the wall approached, his slide had slowed down, and he was able to gently put a hand on it to stop himself completely. He turned around, and gave Nick a wink.

Then - just to be an asshole, obviously - he did it again.

“I really hate you.” Nick said when Caleb stopped back in front of him.

Caleb smirked, “Feeling’s mutual.”

Now even more determined to do better himself, Nick rubbed his hands together, “Okay, this time is going to be it for me. Nothing will stop me from making it to the end of that damn hallway.”

His friend laughed, “Yeah, whatever you say, Nick.”

“You’re doing this with me too, Cay. We’re in it together now. On three, we both go.”

He was sure that Caleb would protest, but all his friend did was roll his eyes, and mutter ‘whatever, just don’t expect me to do it another time after this’. Nick cheered internally for that small victory.

Now if only he could achieve his goal…

“3… 2… 1… go!”

Both of them sprang into action, racing across the dangerously slippery floor. Nick was proud not to have fallen by the halfway point where they both stopped running and allowed their feet to take them the rest of the way. Nick let out a strangled cry as he began to tumble over again, and braced himself for yet another complete failure. Before he actually fell however, Caleb grabbed onto Nick’s hand and pulled him back on course. Hand-in-hand, they were able to make it the rest of the way without falling.

Nick whooped in victory and laughed, “I did it!”

“ _You_ did it?” Caleb asked incredulously, “If it weren’t for me, you’d have embarrassed yourself all over again. You should be grateful.”

It was at the mention of the assistance that Nick realized he was still holding onto Caleb’s hand. He also seemed to have unconsciously intertwined their fingers together. It should have felt awkward, but instead it gave Nick a strange feeling in his chest. Was he getting _butterflies_? It was so dumb and girly that he gently pulled his hand away at the realization.

He ignored the small pang of sadness that rushed through him, and teased, “Thought you said you’d never hold my hand.”

“I assure you that it wasn’t intentional.” Caleb insisted. Yet there was something odd in his eyes as he said it that Nick couldn’t exactly place.

“Hey, I’m not complaining.” Nick blurted before he could stop himself. He internally cursed himself for his inability to control his own words, and hoped that Caleb would believe that was him just joking around as usual.

Caleb just scoffed, so Nick figured he was safe for now. Good.

Pushing his feelings aside, he focused on the mission at hand once again. “Now that I’ve got the hang of this, I’m sure I’ll be able to make it without any assistance.”

“You ‘have the hang of this’?” Caleb repeated, incredulous.

“ _Yes_ , I do, and after I prove it to you, I’m going to kick your ass at Mario Bros.”

“Finally leaving this hallway _and_ proving you wrong again? Sounds good to me.”

Nick rolled his eyes before once again running across the floor. He was right in his confidence as he wasn’t even the slightest bit off balance as he let his socked feet take him past the midpoint. He laughed with pure joy as he sped along. This really had been a brilliant idea. He was fully absorbed in the moment when his bliss was interrupted by a shout,

“Nick, _stop_!”

He hadn’t realized how close he had been getting to the staircase as he was now only a few feet from reaching it. He tried to pull himself to a stop, and to his complete horror, stumbled forward. Panic consumed him as he tried to think of how to quickly use his powers to get himself out of this. The solution didn’t come fast enough, and he braced himself for the painful tumble.

It never came.

Caleb had appeared on the top stair at the last possible moment, and caught Nick by his arms before he fell. Nick’s arms instinctively latched onto Caleb’s in return as he regained his composure and breathed a sigh of relief. He lifted his eyes up to meet Caleb’s, and was caught off guard by how close they were to each other. After a moment of intense and frankly uncomfortable eye contact, they released each other, and Caleb stepped back up the step.

“I told you that was a stupid idea.” Caleb muttered.

Nick practically groaned. His friend just _had_ to say ‘I told you so’, didn’t he? “Shut up.”

Caleb laughed, and Nick hung his head as he willed his heartbeat to slow down.

After several moments of hesitation, Caleb took a step closer to Nick and silently looked him over, “You okay?”

Nick looked up and gave him a bemused look, “No need to act like an overprotective demon mother, I didn’t actually get hurt.”

The affection that Nick could have sworn had just been in Caleb’s eyes shifted back into pure irritation. “Only because I went and saved your stupid ass again.”

“And I’m eternally grateful for it, babe.” Nick responded with a smirk.

Caleb rolled his eyes, “Let’s just go play the damn video game now.”

He took a couple steps away, and without thinking, Nick reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. Caleb gave him a questioning stare, and for some dumbass reason, everything Nick felt about the demon came rushing up like a wave.

“I’m serious. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am that you have always been here to look out for me. I don’t know what I would do without you.” He confessed.

Caleb gave a light shrug, “Don’t really have much choice. It’s protect you or destroy my own life in the long run.”

“I don’t believe that’s the only reason you do it.”

Caleb didn’t agree with that, but didn’t attempt to deny the claim either. He just continued to watch Nick, probably waiting to see if he had an actual point for bringing that up. Taking a silent breath for confidence, Nick took advantage of the window that he felt had temporarily opened for him.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Caleb’s.

Caleb stiffened in complete shock, his eyes wide and disbelieving. Nick let his lips linger for only a few moments before pulling away.

“If you didn’t see that one coming, you must seriously be the most oblivious being to ever live.” Nick teased.

He thought he saw his friend’s lips quirk into the smallest of smiles, but it was far too brief for him to be sure. What he certainly did see was Caleb’s face morph into a scowl and it made doubt start to eat at him.

As usual, he had acted before he thought through the consequences. He hadn’t even really considered whether Caleb felt the same way. He’d been overwhelmed by the moment; the safety he felt and the closeness he had craved so much that it had been hard to breathe. But why would Caleb feel the same way? The demon had always been cold and distant. Nick had started to fall in love with him after the two had somehow ended up becoming best friends, but there was no proof that what Caleb felt for him it went beyond simple companionship.

Nick started to contemplate how to properly express an apology. When he had a vague idea and opened his mouth to speak, he was stopped by the look on his friend’s face. Gone was the grumpy expression, and replacing it was the softest, most clearly genuine, smile he had ever seen on Caleb.

“No one could replace you as the most oblivious idiot on the planet, Nick.” He said.

Caleb took Nick’s hands and yanked him closer before bringing their lips together once more. Nick made a noise of surprise before letting his eyes fall closed and melting into the kiss. The taste of Caleb’s lips brought Nick to a high unlike anything he had imagined. And he _had_ imagined this. An intense, fiery passion was lit inside of him that he never wanted to burn out. Yet despite this overwhelming feeling, the kiss was fairly innocent. Slow, deep and sweet, but not particularly dirty by any means.

He would never admit to it later, but Nick actually _giggled_ when they finally pulled away from each other. A goofy grin spread across his face and Caleb’s own grin didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

“So, how would you feel about getting lunch with me tomorrow?” Nick asked.

“We’ll call it a date.” Caleb agreed.

Nick gave him another peck on the lips, “’Course we will. Now how about we call our first ‘official’ date me kicking your ass at the game of _your_ choice?”

Caleb snorted, “Romantic, Gautier, really.”

“You better get used to it, if you’re gonna be my boyfriend.” Nick pointed out.

“No one said anything about being boyfriends.”

“But you’d love that.”

“Sure I would.” Caleb said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Shut up, I know you would.”

To Nick’s delight, the look on Caleb’s face said that he just might. Grinning at the victory, Nick pulled Caleb by the hand back across the slippery hallway.

There was something ironic about the whole thing. Two creatures, born of darkness, finding a sense of safety, belonging, and _love_ with each other. They could potentially bring out the best in each other, but also the very worst. This could be a dangerous game.

There was always the possibility that Nick wouldn’t be able to be saved and could heartlessly kill Caleb despite the feelings he had for him. The very thought was enough to make him feel nauseous. He could always feel that darkness inside him creeping around the edges of his soul. Then there was Caleb, who was not and never truly would be over his first true love. Nick knew the cause of the hesitation that Caleb was trying to conceal at that very moment. He was afraid to love again, paranoid that the past would repeat itself. Nick couldn’t know for sure what would happen if Caleb lost another love, but he suspected his new boyfriend would no longer be fighting on the good side. He would break. It was up to Nick to keep him whole, and that weighed down on him almost as heavily as his own horrible destiny.

 _‘You sure you want to take these risks, babe?’_ Nick communicated telepathically to Caleb. He did not look back as he projected this, instead only focusing on his steps.

Caleb squeezed his hand _, ‘Yeah, Gautier, I’ll be with you till the end, even with the possibility that this relationship could be cut off horribly.’_

A rush of confidence ran through Nick as he tried to push away the negative thoughts, ‘ _That won’t happen. We’ll make it.’_

It was a moment before he heard Caleb’s voice again,

_‘Yeah. We will.’_

And in that moment, they believed it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_‘But please don’t call me babe.’_

_‘Whatever you say, honey.’_

_‘Stop.’_

_‘Sweetheart?’_

_‘No.’_

_‘Darling?’_

_‘Quit it, Gautier.’_

_‘Come on, baby, loosen up!’_

_‘Baby is not any better than babe.’_

_‘You should have thought of this before agreeing to go out with me, love.’_

_‘…Clearly.’_

 


End file.
